Alynda Segarra grew up in the Bronx as a loner of sorts. Identity was an early source of confusion: Her Puerto Rican parents, both successful in their professional endeavors, divorced when she was a child, leaving Segarra to be raised by her working-class aunt. She found comfort in music — first in stuff like Motown and Doo-Wop, then in Punk Rock from the local scene to better-known outfits like Bikini Kill and Dead Kennedys. In high school she formed her own group, a raucous Folk-fortified band of women that took inspiration from Kimya Dawson, herself a woman of unique background and inspiration.
Restless, Segarra left the Bronx at 17, traveling for several years before landing in New Orleans. Inspired by that city’s rich musical history, she formed Hurray for the Riff Raff, which was anchored by Segarra’s deft, narratively driven lyrical tales and striking voice, which brings to mind a meld of Chrissie Hynde and Patti Smith.
The band dropped a string of self-released records beginning in 2007, each a melting pot of Roots, Folk, Blues, Rock and Cajun music. But it wasn’t until Hurray for the Riff Raff signed with ATO Records and put out Small Town Heroes in 2014 that a broader audience began to take notice, inevitably drawn in by Segarra’s unique presence and songwriting chops.
The band’s freshly minted latest, The Navigator, is a fascinating concept album about Segarra’s full-circle return to her Bronx/Puerto Rican roots. “Living in the City” sounds like the aforementioned Patti Smith in Lou Reed mode, its Rock & Roll shuffle animated by Segarra’s lyrics about hot long summer days and “watching the city quiver.”
Best of all is “Hungry Ghost,” a driving, Arcade Fire-esque anthem that finds Segarra delivering this pointed verse: “I been nobody’s child/So my blood starting running wild/I been a hungry ghost/And I traveled coast to coast.” Then comes the kicker outro: “I’ve been a lonely girl/But I’m ready for the world.”
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This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2017.